by Jaye Shields
Much to her satisfaction, Axel obeyed immediately and his hands went his pants. Inch by inch of hard muscle was revealed until finally, the entire chiseled length of his torso was rivaled only by his thick shaft. Still, his face was enough to make a woman beg for his affection. Dark locks jutted against his angular face and set off his bright indigo eyes. The cool, blue skin was a sensual reminder that he was indeed, a demon. And Sephina liked demons. A lot. She licked her lips as he stepped free of his pants. She’d nearly forgotten how huge he was. Time for a more intimate reminder.
* * * *
Axel’s aching shaft thanked the gods for being set free. Confined within his pants, the pulsing mass hardened to a point where he thought it would tear a hole through the thick leather. Sephina’s body was breathtaking. The sight of her angelic face and wicked smile beckoning him closer was enough to be his undoing. Her hot pink mane was a mess from the flight, but it only made him want to grab hold of it and capture her full lips in a never-ending kiss. Her bright amber gaze flickered like fire, framed by thick lashes the color of charcoal.
He wanted to stare into those eyes forever, and yet, he knew such a declaration would frighten the hell out of her. The depth of his feelings would have sealed his fate had Sephina not been willing to have him today, for he could have no other. Walking away from the demoness in the tavern had proven that.
“For now it’s enough…for now.” He grinned as a confused expression crossed Sephina’s face and she ended up looking more adorable than ever.
Striding into the water after her, he caught her in his arms and pulled her close. Before she could argue with his proclamation, he captured her lips. The scent of cinnamon and gardenia drifted off her skin and consumed him with madness, pushing him to explore every inch of her erotic, delectable body.
The warm, violet water pooled around them like a blanket as the crisp mountain air caressed their bodies with a refreshing chill. Her soft fingertips traced their way down his abdomen and he relished every inch that she explored. She released him from the kiss, but he protested by capturing her bottom lip with his teeth.
She moaned. “Gods, your body is hot.” The breathy exclamation only served as a further aphrodisiac. He was already aching to feel the inside of her and fill her body with enough pleasure to have her liquid warmth seeping around him. He’d already seen her face in the throes of ecstasy and it was the most breathtaking image he’d ever beheld.
Grabbing her by the soft curves of her ass, he lifted her so he could wrap her around his waist, holding her tight so that her breasts pressed against his chest. Their eyes seared into each other with need and he could go no further without revealing the truth.
“To hellplane with frightening you. You’re the most stunning creature in this realm and all others. Even if my heat was not upon me, there is nothing more I could want than to make love to you every moment of the day until your body is too weak to tremble with ecstasy.”
“Silly dragon.” Her breath escaped in a low, sensual murmur. “A succubus doesn’t become weak from hours of pleasure. We thrive.”
“Then it’s a good thing that when it comes to tasting you, I’ve become insatiable.”
“We’ll see.” Sephina tried to capture his lips and continue the kiss, but he pulled back.
“I’m a dragon that’s found eternal fire. I won’t be letting it go.” With the final warning, he seized her lips once more, slipping his tongue into her mouth. She met his intensity and her moan made their mouths vibrate against each other.
Axel moved one of his hands from its firm grip on her ass, exploring the soft skin wrapped around him. He strode into the cool lagoon until they were floating. Finding the warm slick heat between her thighs, Axel plunged two fingers deep inside of her. Her tight, wet sex surrounded him and it became his turn to moan. She was liquid silk melting into his hand. The palm clenching her soft bum gripped her even harder as Sephina gasped with pleasure, digging her fingernails into his shoulder.
He drove his fingers within her soft heat. This time she cried out in ecstasy. He whispered into her ear, taking his time to inhale her delectable scent. “Do you want me to fill you with my thick cock instead?”
“Fuck yes.” She panted the words and regained her composure to whisper into his ear like a vixen. “You might want to be careful about letting a succubus become addicted to you.”
“That’s one addiction I might let you keep.”
His lips found hers in an all-consuming kiss that left him weak in the knees. The waterfall continued to pound into the pool, creating a sound of constant thunder. Axel never heard someone approach until it was too late and a heavy net smothered them.
Sephina screamed. Axel pulled her closer to him to protect her body from the steel net closing around them. The weighted device pulled them under water and Sephina thrashed against him as she gasped for air. Her hot pink hair swirled beneath the surface of the violet water. Axel caught her cheeks and forced her to gaze to meet his. He willed her to acknowledge that he would let no harm come to them. When she calmed, he placed his lips over hers and forced air into her lungs. She received his oxygen, but after her lungs were filled, she sealed the maneuver with a desperate kiss.
Soon, the net was being pulled to shore. Axel barely heard the faint sound of a crossbow clicking into place over the roar of the waterfall, but he covered Sephina with his body just in time. The thick scales embedded in his skin sprang outward in response. Axel couldn’t see the attackers from his entanglement in the net, but three arrows pierced through his scales from behind. Sephina screamed as the force of the weapon slammed into his body. The hard shells covering the exterior of his flesh protected him from a fatal wound, but he couldn’t fight back. Instead he focused on ensuring every inch of Seph’s body was covered by his own, so no arrow could get through.
Since Axel couldn’t retaliate, the dragon hunters were able to successfully haul them into the back of a horse-drawn carriage. Sephina whimpered from under Axel’s weight, but he was grateful that a few bruises would be all she suffered. Now he just needed to find a way to free her. Even if it killed him.
* * * *
The scent of wood and death surrounded Sephina, which wasn’t a surprise since she couldn’t count how many cedar slivers she had embedded in her skin from being dragged into the back of the carriage. And oh yes, death might also be pending. Without windows of any kind, their new quarters were completely dark. The net had loosened once they were released from their captor’s grip. She could hardly see from under Axel’s protective embrace, but she thought she’d counted five of them.
Axel hadn’t flinched when the arrows penetrated his skin, but Sephina had felt their deadly force as they collided into his body. “Axel? Axel, are you okay?” She hadn’t seen any blood coming out of his wounds, but now that they were in the dark, she had no idea.
“Are youuu…all right?” Axel’s voice was soft and slurred.
“Oh gods, you’re hurt!” Her hands frantically searched out his wounds and found the tiny arrows lodged in his still-hardened skin. The scales were thick beneath her fingertips and she wondered how the sharp points had gotten past the tough shell.
“No. Not hurt.”
As Seph prepared to pull free one of the arrows, she realized it wasn’t anything she’d ever seen before. Axel didn’t even flinch when she pulled it free from deep within his back.
“Carrreful,” Axel warned slowly. “They’re tranquilizers with a special flame suppressant.”
“What?” Sephina’s fingers searched for the next shaft protruding from his back. They were hard to find since the sharp syringes were lodged so deep within his muscles.
“They’re dragon hunters.”
“But you’re a quetzalem.”
“Even more rare. Surely you’ve heard the rumors about the death of our…the death of our race.” His words slipped in and out as his consciousness dwindled
“Don’t tell me anything more besides what I can do to help
you.” Her heart twisted into a knot within her chest.
“When they open the carriage it will be our only chance. My brimstone is already weak, and with the flame suppressant they shot me with, a successful distraction will be harder. When the time comes…” His words lapsed into silence.
“Axel!”
He stirred within her arms. “When the time comes, stay in the back of the carriage. I’ll try to take out as many as I can, and when I call for you, leap into my arms and we’ll seek safety in the sky.”
“You can barely speak, how will you fight? I can help.”
A growl penetrated the darkness and, although she couldn’t see his face, it was obvious Axel wasn’t content with her words. “A man can do anything when he has the need to protect his woman.”
Warmth spread across her chest and up into her cheeks. The man was half unconscious and all he could do was think of saving her. Gods, she hoped they lived through this. She might even take him up that “eternal” thing. Her heart ached at the thought of dying. Not so much the death part, but leaving behind Zahra and Lennox…and Axel.
“I dislike your silence, Sephina. I would rather you insult my manhood again.”
A burst of laughter escaped her, but so too did tears. Yep, she was in big trouble. She was in love, whether she liked it or not. She was pretty sure she fell in love the very first night he refused to supply her with the fae wing.
“What kind of a dealer doesn’t deal, huh?” She shoved his shoulder playfully and was glad he wouldn’t see her tears through the darkness.
“I only deal to keep the bad shit out of my town. Recreation is one thing, but stuff like fae wing only does bad things to good people.”
“It takes away bad memories.”
“I’ll take away your bad memories.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek. Damn him. One thing was for sure, when the carriage came to a stop, she was going to fight for her man. My man. The declaration startled her, but at the same time, her heart swelled to full capacity. Just when she was about to slip into full-on sappy mode, a strong scent drifted into the air and filled her nostrils. The burning sulfur aroma was undeniable. “Is their plan to burn us alive?”
“No. Dragon hunters are after the quetzalem to harvest our blood. They need me alive to have a constant supply.” Silence followed his words, and Seph wondered if the pain from his injuries was too great for him to speak. In the dark inside of the rumbling carriage, his hand found hers. “Seph.” Her name, although slurred by the effects of the fire suppressant, warmed her heart.
“What is it?”
“I know this is bad timing, but that scent is my heat. It has begun.”
His words dripped with defeat, but Sephina perked up at the news. “Well, a dark traveling torture carriage is a little less romantic than a lagoon and purple waterfall, but it’ll do.”
Only a syllable escaped Axel’s lips before she found him in a kiss. This time, her lips parted against his and invited his tongue to explore her mouth with the knowledge that she wanted him for more than a hot ride. She wanted him for life.
Chapter 9
Sephina traced the lines of his hard muscles in the dark, and when she found blood, she brought her lips to his skin. She kissed his wounds and wished she could heal them. But there was something she could heal. Tonight would be more than healing, it would be life changing. Already nude, she straddled Axel’s lap, kneeling over his hard center so she wouldn’t crush the injuries left from the arrows that’d been lodged in his chest earlier.
“Your eyes light this darkness like fire.” Axel’s voice showed no signs of pain. Instead, Sephina embraced the adoration in his strong tone. To be his woman made her feel like a goddess. A warrior goddess. She’d heal her man, and then she’d fight for him. Her hand found his manhood and he was already hardening for her. She placed him at her entrance.
“Wait.”
“What do you mean, wait?” So much for her romantic death-defying seduction.
“Come to my lips first.”
“There’s no time, we don’t know when the hunters will stop, Axel.”
“There’s always time.”
He pulled her forward and she tried to avoid his injuries as he brought her to straddle his mouth. His lips found her and only a second later, the world had fallen away and there was only the ecstasy being drilled into her by Axel’s warm tongue. His hands gripped her ass and aimed her perfectly above his mouth. He suckled her clit until she gasped with pleasure, and then dove into her core with his tongue once more. Her thighs quivered as ecstasy barreled toward her. It was already too much to handle. Seph arched away from his lips just as climax nearly claimed her. Axel’s hands forced her back, but she bucked away.
“Let me come with you,” she purred, entranced by the spell his tongue had wrought upon her.
“Gods, I love you.”
Spurned by his words, she slid down on his hard cock. For the first time since she’d acknowledged their love, he filled her. She nearly exploded upon impact. As she melted around him, she realized none could ever fit her like him. No other man or demon would do. “You feel so good.” Her hands went to her hair as she ground her hips in a slow circle against his loins. He groaned in response and she knew they were both enjoying the hypnotic dance. Her slow maneuvers allowed every inch of him to slide deeper and deeper as her walls stretched to accommodate his wide girth.
When he reached the deepest part of her, she arched her back and ushered him even farther so he hit her inner chamber, causing jabs of pleasure and pain to mix together. Her eyes rolled back inside her head, letting the darkness increase the sensations exploding within her. Slowly, she eased up and down his long shaft. Each time she came to the head, her walls ached to feel his length once more. She’d sink down on him, whetting her own appetite and his.
Axel’s hands found her breasts and massaged, his fingers lingering over her nipples. She was unable to see in the darkness, so when he pinched her sensitive peaks, she gasped at the unexpected affection. She arched against him, once more guiding his shaft even deeper within her.
“Sephina. I can feel the fire beginning to burn within my bones.”
“Then I guess it’s about to get hotter in here.” Seph began to grind faster on top of him, still continuing to be careful of his wounds, but giving them both up to the passionate, frenzied motions.
Axel’s palms cupped her breasts as they bounced with every hard thrust she sank into. He met every rough grind she offered, and together they rode toward ecstasy. One of his hands found her clit through the darkness. The sudden massage threw her over the edge and she screamed his name. Her orgasm caused her thighs to tremble and her core clenched tight around his shaft. Her walls pulsed from the overflow of climax, his steel swelling within her. Axel’s climax jerked into her. When his hard cock trembled within her tight vise, she constricted around him before leaning down to capture his lips. She was careful to avoid his wounds, but he pulled her down on top of him.
“The heat’s taking over my body, but you’ve consumed my heart and soul.” He didn’t give her time to respond. Instead, his mouth covered hers, and he flipped their bodies so her back met the hay and he drove into her once more. As he pounded into her, cradling her face the entire time, Sephina realized she’d never known this feeling before. The feeling of belonging to someone. Being in love. And to be willing to die to keep that happiness.
For now, they’d make love until their bodies could move no more. But when those doors opened and the hunters tried to separate them, she’d fight until they stole the last breath from her body.
* * * *
The carriage rumbled to a stop, the hunters obviously concerned about the smoke escaping through cracks in the wooden-plank carriage. Sephina had not only revived him, but together they’d descended into the deepest reaches of ecstasy. They’d explored every crevice of each other’s body and found euphoria more times than could be counted. And now he was strong.
The
burning in Axel’s bones empowered the rage coursing through his veins. If anyone so much as laid a finger on his love, they’d be roasted over an open fire. Flame suppressant or not, he was not only fresh off his heat, but he was burning from the inside out with the enchantment of true love. She might not have admitted it, but Sephina had given herself to him fully. She’d come to him as more than a lover. Nothing made him happier. Or more prepared to slaughter anyone who tried to harm her.
“Get back,” he told her. She obeyed, but tension buzzed in the air as she retreated to the corner. She doesn’t like being ordered around. He wouldn’t make the mistake again.
The carriage doors opened and Axel inhaled a deep breath, feeling his embers simmer and catch fire. The brimstone sent flames barreling through his throat and spewing out the doors. The wood of the carriage caught fire from the gigantic blaze, but so did the two men that had been standing at the door preparing to grab him.
“I thought you shot him with the flame suppressant!” one of the humans just out of reach of the flames screamed at the others.
There were ten of them total. Axel instantly recognized one of them from the village he’d visited looking for a sex demon. Two hunters aimed crossbows at him equipped with the potent tranquilizer to quell his flames. He opened his mouth to expel a fireball, but he’d never be able to get both of them before he was hit.
A neon pink blur ran past him. Gods be damned! Axel’s heart dropped into his stomach as Sephina tore past him to get to the other non-flaming humans. Axel leapt into action and sprayed fire in a steady line toward the men on the right, avoiding Sephina and the others.
Sephina reached two of the captors and swung out with an impressive roundhouse kick. The dragon hunter caught her by the ankle nonetheless and yanked her so she fell back. Axel’s wings were free from his skin and taking him into the air in a flash. Sephina never hit the ground. Instead, he caught her and launched them both into the sky. Once more, Axel tried to smother her against his chest so when the arrows came, they’d lodge into the thick scales lining his posterior.
